Head of Medical Paul Gambles writes for www.themillers.co.uk...
It’s not every day that doesn't cost a fortune, especially in football. When you’re at a Premier League club, it becomes far easier to acquire new equipment through sponsorship deals and the like. People want you to be associated with their goods or equipment and as soon as you gain promotion you are inundated with reps wanting to supply you with new equipment, drinks, gadgets or anything that they can claim will enhance the performance of your players or aid their recovery.
Throughout the summer up until the present day, Ross (our performance manager) and myself have been trying to set up partnerships with a whole host of companies, most of whom have been local, to supply us with goods as part of strategic partnerships in exchange for advertising, public promotion or just general generosity and a desire to be associated with your local team. The response has been good and we have had some success from our enquiries, namely MGB Plastics who supplied our ice baths and Exeve, who funded our physio room refurb and gym equipment. We've also had some failures, but we move on and try other suppliers or local businesses to see what they may be able to offer. Taking this approach means that any money we can save, maximises the amount available to the gaffer for other things, be that transfers, wages or equipment.
However, one amazing piece of business really does stand out this summer for us and that is the acquiring of a piece of hi-tech equipment that will enhance the recovery of our injured players greatly. Towards the end of last season we had some issues with one of our suppliers whose customer service didn't stand up to what we expected. So we sought an alternative, the product we chose was equal to, if not better than its predecessor, but the customer service and after sales by far and away exceeded anything we had experienced previously. The company reps were always on hand to sort out any queries, rectify any problems or just to check that everything was going well. The company in question, who we are now working alongside is PhysioLab and they have always gone above and beyond to ensure that the products we received matched our needs and provided us with the most beneficial cost solution possible.
So some 6 months later to receive an unexpected call from the company offering us their ‘flagship’ product as part of the strategic partnership we have in place, was amazing. We were used to the product as we had trialled it previously, but its cost (over £12k) limited us. Although it would remain on our wish list, we had priorities in other areas and it became something that in our immediate future, we could only dream of procuring. However, as of Tuesday of this week the ‘PhysioLab C1’ stands in pride of place at the training ground, and has been used constantly by injured players since it’s arrival, meaning we have an item of equipment putting us in the elite company of top flight clubs including Manchester United.
These notes, therefore, are mainly for us to publicly thank PhysioLab and all of the other companies who have helped to supply us with key pieces of kit. We are constantly striving to improve the setup off the pitch in an attempt to reap the rewards on it and we feel like we are able to be progressive and treat the players with up-to-date techniques and equipment, that we might otherwise have to sacrifice or put off to a later date.
If you would like any more information on the equipment that we use here at Rotherham United or indeed the work and equipment that PhysioLab supplies as a company, please look at their website - www.physiolab.com or view their promotional video on YouTube. Further details can be obtained on the equipment itself or any rental enquiries from becky.langley@physiolab.com.
Once again, a big thanks from myself, the medical staff and the sports science staff.
Paul Gambles